The Diamond Child
by Kawaii Stella
Summary: Claudine Bentley finds herself near death in a forest. Then she wakes up in a hospital under the care of the most interesting doctor of all. Things get interesting when the Cullens get involved. Better than summary! Please R&R!
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello Everyone! Kawaii Stella here with my very first solo TwiFic! I say solo cuz I'm co writing The Lost Letters with Elena McVoy. (you should go check her out she's awesome.) This is just the introduction. This Intro is in my OCs, Claudine's POV. This story mostly will be in Claudine's, Carlisle's, or 3rd person POV. I'm already to typing the 5th chapter. Warning, the fourth chapter is very long when it gets here. I'm quite pleased inn my mind about how this story is turning out. I hope you all enjoy it! In your reviews, please be nice. I don't like flames. They hurt me. So read, review, and enjoy! ~KS**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to Twilight. My OCs are mine and so is the town I created for them. So don't steal them.**

The Diamond Child

By: Kawaii Stella

Prologue/Introduction

Through my heritage, I had learned many legends that many considered pure myth. However, I knew they were true and very, very real. Many of times I had learned through firsthand experience. There were thousands of different tales; spanning the ages since my adopted family's beginnings. Well, my father's adopted family; my father whom I don't remember and know little about.

My father and his sister were the first to ever enter the clan and be part of "The Legend of a Thousand Facets" or more commonly called "The Diamond Legend". The Legend of a Thousand Facets got its name from old tales that in certain matters were so different, yet covered the same thing: the immortals.

Yes, immortals; the ones who live forever. They are the vampires. Bloodsucking creatures of the night and all that. However, not all vampires are night bound. Many a breed of vampire can easily survive in the sun. My father is one, or so I'm told. Others can come out in the day but are weakened greatly by it. There are also those who fit the most stereotypical type of vamp: those who sleep by day, eat at night, and get turned to dust if they get caught in the sun. There are tons of different vampires, but there is one breed I have yet to encounter that I'm truly curious of: the diamond skins.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering who I am and why I am telling you this. Well my name is Claudine and I'm a legend keeper slash warrior of my clan. My clan basically is a mix of Irish and Native American peoples but since its beginning has gained more nationalities. Yeah, I know it's not a cannon mix but hey, you gotta deal with the cards you're dealt. My job of as a legend keeper is simple: I learn the legends, keep them alive, and, if possible, learn more about them. I'm 17 and I already know nearly all of the oral legends and most of the written ones. So to say the least I can tell a mean ghost story. In these times of peace there isn't a big call for warriors to stand guard or fight. So in my spare time I travel to different dimensions and universes to gather new legends. Well, I do that occasionally. Usually I leave to another dimension just so I can get away and focus on my art.

If you hadn't guessed my family can be crazy. As far as I know I've always been raised by my grandparents since I don't have a clue who my birth parents are. It was my grandma who got me into the legends in the first place. On rainy days like today I can't do much, so like most rainy days I'm sprawled out on their couch watching The Price Is Right.

"That's too much!" Gran yelled from the love seat, startling me out of my daze. The show cut to a commercial and Gran asked me what I wanted for lunch.

"Hmm… I dunno'," I said, going into the kitchen to rummage through the fridge.

"How about fried chicken?" Gran asked me.

"Oh yeah, that sounds good!" I said as grandpa walked in after hanging up his hunter orange raincoat out on the porch.

"What sounds good," Grandpa asked.

"Fried chicken," I informed him.

Grandpa agreed that fried chicken did sound good and sat in his rocking chair; using his pocket knife to get the cakes of mud out of his boots.

After The Price Is Right was over, I accompanied grandma into the kitchen so I could help if she needed me to – which usually wasn't the case. Usually I just sat there and watched her work her magic. For a while I stared out the kitchen window, watching lightning cut across the sky. My loyal dog came and sat at my feet as I said,

"Some summer storm. It's so dark outside."

"It sure is," Gran commented.

"I don't think we've had a storm this bad since this past spring," Grandpa commented from the living room.

"Hmm…" I said.

As I stared into the dark, rolling storm clouds, I had an odd feeling stir within my soul. Someone was going to die.


	2. Ch 1 Black as Night

**A/N: Ch 2! A certain Cullen comes in at the end of this chapter!**

**Don't own Twilight**

The Diamond Child

Kawaii Stella

Chapter One

Black as Night

~Claudine's POV~

I didn't like that feeling; no sir I didn't. But the feeling was inescapable. I didn't know when, why, or who, but someone was going to die. A shiver ran down my spine and I felt like ice water had been pumped into my veins. It was over seventy degrees outside but I felt like it should be a blizzard out. I jumped three feet in the air as the kitchen timer went off.

"Good heavens, Claudine," Gran said. "Your hair's going to go grey before you're thirty if you keep jumping out of your skin like that!"

"Yeah, I guess so," I mumbled as I made myself useful by putting out the dishes and filled the glasses.

As lightning continued to strike the power flickered and momentarily went out before coming back on. Finally, we all sat down and ate after Grandpa said the blessing. Quickly I had a full plate and soon after a full stomach. We ate dessert left from Sunday's meal two days ago, which was a rich chocolate cake. By the time the news came on at noon I was ready for a nap.

I got up from the table when Grandpa did, pouncing on the couch as he turned on the noon news. I lay stretched out on the couch with my eyes shut as I heard the familiar theme music with the catch phrase, "Live. Local. Late Breaking…" The top news story was of course was the weather. Storms were ravaging the whole area.

The weatherman came on air cutting into the newscast, even though they were already talking about the weather, with his weather advisory announcement going off.

"We interrupt this program for a Storm Team weather advisory," The T.V. said as the words TORNADO WARNING came on screen. I watched with rapt attention; tornados kinda freak me out.

From the color coated map on the screen I knew my area wasn't under a tornado warning. Yet. We were just under a severe thunderstorm warning.

"There's severe weather in the heartland," Bob, the weatherman, said to the viewers. "We are experiencing strong winds, severe lightning, and even softball sized hail in some areas."

"No, I never would've guessed!" I said sarcastically under my breath. But before I could scoff at the weatherman more, the sound of a large car pulling into the drive filled our ears. Grandpa looked through the window to see a large, black SUV of some sort.

"It's them," Grandpa said to Gran who quickly took grandpa's orange raincoat and wrapped me in it while she shoved me into my waterproof boots.

I was given my backpack which also was water tight so none of my electronics could get hurt. My electronic storage device was inside; the hi-tech little thing housing all the tomes I was studying, my weapons, and much more. Gran shoved me out the back door into the storm.

"Go," She told me. "Go and don't stop running. We'll get you - eventually."

So I sprinted into the rain and lightning. The clouds were as black as night and the thunder shook the ground like an earthquake. As I approached the forest it started to hail. The hail started out small but went to softball size rather quickly; pummeling my back and head as I ran. The pain shook my body but I kept running, falling quite often into the muddy forest floor. My old tattered blue jeans ripped, allowing my legs to get shredded; quickly becoming covered in blood.

I fell again and it was harder than ever for me to get up. I was so dizzy and tired. But as I heard the tornado sirens begin to wail in the distance, I forced myself onto my feet and began to run again. My pace slowed as I lost more blood. I knew there was a little area up ahead where I could rest. I needed to sit down. My eyesight was beginning to fade slightly.

There were branches starting to snap off from the trees. They fell to the ground with a muted thud thanks to the thunder. As I approached the rest area I skidded to a halt. There was a strange hole in the ground. My hair was matted to my face in the downpour. My gut told me to keep running; run away from that hole. I listened to my gut and began to back off but there was an earsplitting crack. A large branch fell from its tree. It fell so fast; I didn't have a chance. The branch fell, hitting me across the back and head. I fell into the swirling hole. My world went dark. I vaguely felt that I landed onto land somewhere; tumbling over rocks and other painful objects. As I lay in this rainy place, everything began to fade away. I was dying. It was ironic that the unknown person I knew would die turned out to be me. Finally, the pain subsided and everything was gone.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"Oh my…" I heard a gentle voice say. "Please, wake up." The voice begged.

I opened my eyes and saw the most beautiful creature. He was indescribable. That's how I knew I was dead; this man could not be human. He had to be God or an angel. My eyes fluttered shut and the last thing I saw was his beautiful face staring into mine.

As everything went dark again I felt myself flying. If he was here, it was nice to be dead.


	3. Ch 2 Light

The Diamond Child

Chapter Two

Light

~3rd Person POV~ ~Forks Hospital~

Claudine had been unconscious for three days. She was found unconscious by Forks, Washington's most renowned doctor: Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Dr. Cullen had found the girl while he was on a hike in the forest near his home. He had found Claudine severely injured and near unresponsive. The good doctor brought the girl to the hospital himself, carrying her into the emergency room in his arms which had coated his clothes in mud and blood. Now at three days since Dr. Cullen brought Claudine in, she was about ready to wake up.

The tiny girl looked pitiful in her hospital bed. Her long blonde hair had been cleaned but she still looked a mess. Nearly every inch of her body had been wrapped in bandages. She wore an oxygen mask and had various monitors hooked up to her. Claudine thought that she had died, but now she was hearing voices and feeling her entire body ache. She tried to tune out the pain by listening to the voices.

"Has there been any changes in her condition this morning?" a voice said; Claudine recognized the voice, it was her angel from the forest.

"None, doctor," a female voice, presumably a nurse, said.

"Hmm…" the doctor said.

The doctor checked the tubes in her arms and the bandages around her head. Claudine felt his touch and felt the pain increase all over her body. She couldn't be dead; death was supposed to be peaceful and painless. Right now she wasn't peaceful and was in agonizing pain. A burning white light stated to blind Claudine from beneath her eyelids. She had to get away from the light. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

~Claudine POV~

As my body throbbed in unbelievable pain I forced my eyes open. It was difficult to do so; my eyes weren't cooperating with me. A bleached clean smell invaded my nose. As I smelled that smell I realized something was on my face. I wanted it off and fast. I had to wake up.

"Ugh," I moaned, fluttering my eyes open to be greeted by the ceiling and fluorescent lights. I couldn't move my legs or any part of my body for that matter. I felt so weak.

The doctor, who had been about to leave, came to my side. I noticed that he was more beautiful that I remembered. His beautiful eyes were a brilliant gold.

"Excellent, you're finally awake," the doctor said. "You gave us quite the scare. How do you feel?" He removed the thing on my face, an oxygen mask, so I could speak.

"Everything hurts," I complained, noticing how rough my voice had become. My throat was sore too. "Where am I?"

"You're in Forks, Washington; we aren't sure what happened to you but you were very beat up when I found you," the doctor informed me. "We couldn't find any identification on you and we don't have a file for you. I'm hoping you could tell me a little about yourself so we'd have a head start when Chief Swan gets here."

"Am I in trouble?" I asked the doctor, assessing his breathtaking face.

"No, of course not," he said smiling. "It's just that we have no clue who you are or where you're from. Besides a bracelet that said 'Cujo' that was on your wrist, we have no idea as to what to call you."

I giggled; it was funny hearing him call me by my nickname. "My name's Claudine."

"Claudine," he repeated to himself quietly, almost too low for me to hear. "It's nice to meet you Claudine. I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen." He reached out his hand and I shook it; the start of a new friendship.

Dr. Cullen told me that he'd explain my injuries as soon as he returned with a new file for me with all of the appropriate paperwork. While he was gone I looked out the window to my left. Everything was so green! It was pouring down rain outside, the clouds dark grey, yet the outside world just seemed to radiate green. I thought that I'd seen the greenest forests ever back in Wolves Hallow, back home, but I had been proven wrong. It struck me then that Dr. Cullen told me that I was in Forks, Washington. Even if I was in my home dimension, I was still really far away from home. I would have to ask what dimension I was in. I needed to know. Maybe there was a phonebook nearby; that would tell me where I was. However, before I could even begin to try and look, Dr. Cullen re-entered the room with a folder and a clipboard full of paperwork.

"Alright Claudine," Dr. Cullen said, pulling a chair up to the side of my bed. "About your injuries, you've been unconscious for three days and the events leading up to your coma left you with many wounds. Working from the ground up, you have a sprained right ankle, your legs were severely cut and bruised, there are gashes and bruises all over your arms and back, plus there was a deep gash on your head."

"Geez," I said. "Anything else?"

"There is a possibility that you may have a concussion but I don't think that you do."

I looked at my left hand and saw the IV needle. Involuntarily I shuddered; I didn't do well with needles; I had had a bad past when it came to medical care. I think Dr. Cullen sensed that I wasn't pleased with the thought of all the treatments I would have to have, because he changed the subject.

"Why don't you tell me about yourself, Claudine?" Dr. Cullen asked gently.

"Can you tell me your full name?" he asked as he clicked his pen ready to write down my response.

"Claudine Violet Bentley."

"How old are you and when were you born?"

"I'm 17; my birthdate is March 14, 1994."

"Do you know your height and weight?"

"Yes, I'm five feet tall and I weigh 95 pounds."

"Do you have any medical problems or history thereof?"

"Um, I have asthma now and I had a heart attack when I was three."

I think that surprised the doctor, because he stared at me with wide eyes after I said that. From the way the questions were headed I knew the tough one was coming.

"Who are your parents?"

Yep, there it was; the question I hated the most.

"I-I don't know," I answered very quietly, looking down at the blanket over my legs. I knew there would be more questions about that, but I didn't want to hear them.

For such a young looking doctor, Dr. Cullen really knew how to take care of his patients. He immediately sensed how distraught I had become and reassuringly put his hand on my shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Dr. Cullen asked very, very, gently.

"I've never had parents in my life. I was raised by my grandparents. For whatever reason they didn't want me, but somehow I still hear…" I stopped there.

"What?"

"Nothing," I said, my tone definite yet still quiet. To my relief, Dr. Cullen dropped the subject. For several moments it was very quiet; you could've heard a pin drop. So, when Chief Swan knocked on the door I about had a second heart attack.


	4. Ch 3 Realizations

**A/N: Last update for now. There's a big surprise at the end! The next chapter is mega long. I'll probably post it tomorrow. So for now, please read and review! ~Kawaii Stella**

**Don't own Twilight as usual. Just my OCs**

The Diamond Child

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Three

Realizations

~Carlisle POV~

I could tell that the issue of Claudine's parents was not a simple subject. Since she said she had no parents I wrote down the word orphan with a question mark besides it. I wanted to know what she had been about to say, but I could tell I wasn't going to get any more out of her right now. Obvious by the way she acted Claudine was very distraught by the thought of her biological parents or their absence thereof. I was about to ask her where she was from when Forks Chief of Police, Charlie Swan, knocked on the door.

When he knocked, Claudine about jumped out of her skin, causing her heart rate to skyrocket. Before anyone could notice I switched off her heart monitor as not to alarm Chief Swan. However I could still hear her little heart thrashing about her chest.

"Ah, Chief Swan," I welcomed, rising from my seat.

"Hello, Dr. Cullen," Chief Swan greeted. "I heard our little mystery girl is finally awake."

"Yes, Claudine's been awake for about an hour now. Claudine," I addressed her. "This is Chief Swan."

"Hello," Claudine said to the Chief.

Chief Swan returned the greeted then turned to face me.

"What have you found out about her?" Chief Swan asked me.

"Her name is Claudine Bentley and she's seventeen. I've not asked her where she's from yet." I told Chief Swan.

"Alright, do you mind if I question her?"

"Go right ahead. I'll observe from that chair in the corner." I went and sat in the corner with my pen still ready to take notes if Claudine said anything interesting.

Chief Swan wasted no time in questioning Claudine. I listened intently as she answered each question.

"Where are you from Claudine?" Chief Swan asked.

"Wolves Hollow, Illinois."  
>"That's very far away Claudine," Chief Swan asked. "Just how did you get here?"<p>

"I fell in a hole," Claudine said in a matter of fact tone. "I think it was a portal."

My head snapped up when Claudine said that; I had not seen that coming. Yes, I was aware that there were other dimensions, but inter-dimensional travel was pretty rare.

"A portal you say," Chief Swan said his expression skeptical. "If you thing you're from another dimension then do you know what your IDZC is?"

'What is an IDZC?' I wondered, curious if Claudine could answer the question.

"629002011349 dash NAD #14," she answered, to mine and Chief Swan's amazement. "What's the Inter Dimensional ZIP Code here?" Claudine asked.

"593893697003 dash NAD #4," Chief Swan answered.

"Oh my…" Claudine said quietly. "I'm really far away then."

"I'll tell you the truth Claudine," Chief Swan said. "I'd always thought that the inter-dimensional ZIP codes were a weird joke. But now I realize that there are other dimensions."

"Yes, yes there are," Claudine said.

"Do you know how to get back home, Claudine?" Chief Swan asked her.

Claudine was silent as she carefully chose her words. She fidgeted with her hands as she spoke quietly.

"Yes, but I don't think I'm supposed to go back."

"What do you mean, Claudine?" Chief Swan inquired.

"Well, um, I had to run away. Gran said they'd come and get me when it was safe. So I don't think that it's a smart idea for me to try and go home right now. Hey, where's my bag?" Claudine asked as the thought of her bag come to the front of her mind.

"Your bag?" Chief Swan asked.

"Yes, my backpack. I had it when I fell. I definitely won't be able to get home if I don't have my bag! OW!" Claudine gasped, clutching her head.

I immediately was at her side as she cried out in pain, holding her head in her hands. Charlie Swan looked white as a swan, scared that he'd caused her pain.

"Where does it hurt, Claudine," I asked her. She indicated that the pain spanned across her entire forehead. I paged the nurse, telling her to bring the sedative and a pain medicine for me to inject into her IV.

I first injected the pain reliever as I asked her what her backpack looked like.

"It's blue, grey, and white. Oh, and it has pins all over the front with different sayings on them. The biggest one is black and it says "Sorry, I don't speak stupid.""

"Okay," I told her gently as I injected the sedative. "We'll find it, don't worry; just relax."

The sedative worked its way through her body quickly. Within two minutes Claudine was drifting off to sleep.

"Claudine," I said.

"Mmhmn?" She said, her eyes drooping.

"Does your head feel better?"

"Yes, thank you," she murmured before falling asleep.

"I didn't cause her pain, did I? Chief Swan asked. "I sure didn't mean to."

"No, that wasn't your fault," I told him. "The trauma to her head got the best of her. In time she'll get better and hopefully she can help unravel her mystery. I found her not too far from my home, so I can send my sons to find her backpack if that's alright with you, Chief."

"That's fine with me," Charlie said, then left to go back to the police station.

Once I went on my break, I would call Edward, my oldest son, and ask him to go find Claudine's backpack since Jasper and Emmett were hunting in Canada. I turned Claudine's heart monitor back on and adjusted the other monitor back on and adjusted the other monitors. As I did, in her sleep, Claudine pulled up her blanket and curled up into a tiny ball. To me, it was extremely cute.

As I walked from her room the truth of what was happening struck me in the face like a bolt of lightning. It was very dangerous for this to be happening, but I don't think I could help it. She hadn't been conscious but a mere two and a half hours, but it was happening. I was growing attached.


	5. Ch 4 Decisions

**a/n: Hey guys I'm back with the next chapter. My favorite line so far is in this chapter. Can you guess what it is? lol. Seth won't show up until later**

**As always I don't own Twilight or any of the characters.**

**Thanks to those who reviewed!**

The Diamond Child

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Four

Decisions

~Carlisle POV~

"I only had two other patients to see after Claudine, so it didn't take me long to finish my rounds and go on break. The rain had temporarily let up, so I stepped outside taking my iPhone from my pocket. Even though I knew his number, I used the speed dial to call Edward. After what seemed like an hour Edward answered.

"Carlisle? Is something wrong?" Edward asked me, his voice concerned.

I wasn't sure of the mechanics of how Edward's gift worked, but I wasn't about to take any chances. I focused my thoughts on the backpack alone, not letting any emotions color my thoughts and tone.

"Edward," I said my tone of voice completely calm. "The girl I found three days ago, she says she had a backpack with her. Would you go out and find it? She said it was blue, black, and grey."

"Of course, I'll go tonight when I leave to hunt."

"Alright, thank you, Edward," I said, hanging up.

My conversation with my son did not take more than three minutes. I still had twenty five minutes left of my break. I knew I needed to know more about Claudine. I would much rather learn her past from her herself though. So I settled with returning to my office to work of Claudine's charts.

Despite her injuries her health was exceptional. I could never have guessed that Claudine had suffered a heart attack at such an extremely young age. Her heart was very strong; I could tell by the sound. I could tell from her astounding blue-green eyes that she was sweet yet intelligent. Despite her quite attitude, her eyes blazed with more experiences than any seventeen year old I had ever seen in my three centuries. I was eager to hear the tales she could tell.

I never had grasped Edward's fascination with Bella, a human, perhaps because I already have my mate, my Esme. But now I had a feeling of that fascination. I do not understand why, but I had a feeling, almost instinctive, to protect Claudine. Not in the way I would protect my mate, but in the way I would protect my own child. Now I was fascinated by this little human. Somehow, this girl was special. However, I couldn't risk getting to close to her. If she, as a human, were brought into the supernatural world in which I lived, things could go very badly. The idea of her becoming a member of my family filled me with such joy. But if my Italian acquaintances even suspected I was harboring a human who knew the secret, they'd have her - for dinner.

Then a knock came at my office door. It was a nurse from the lab with the results of the blood tests I had run on Claudine. I knew this would shed some light on who Claudine was. I took the folder from the nurse and thanked her. As the nurse went to exit the door she turned back to face me. To relay a message she had nearly forgotten.

"Oh, Dr. Cullen?" the nurse asked to grab my attention from the folder I was about to open.

"Yes?"

"Dr. Clark wanted me to tell you that some of the results were strange, and that he hopes you can make sense of it."

"Strange? Hmm… alright, thank you Ms. Sears," I told her as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

I opened the results folder and scanned the first page. Nothing seemed strange at first glance. I read through the results. Her blood type was AB negative, but that wasn't unusual. Her blood sugar and iron levels were low, something I would need to monitor. The first pages, and the second page for that matter, were relatively mundane, nothing strange at all. Starting to feel like Dr. Clark was trying to pull the wool over my eyes, I flipped to page three. There, I saw a brightly colored post-it note stuck over a part of the results. I read the note: "Carlisle, I ran this test tree times but the results came back the same every time. I hope you know what's going on; I don't. –S. Clark."

I removed the post-it to see the results he wanted me to see. The number 27 was circled in ink. My eyes widened in surprise. The number 27 referred to her chromosomal pairs. This girl wasn't a simple human; humans only had 23 pairs of chromosomes.

Claudine was a very interesting little creature. I wanted to know everything about her. My newfound attachment fueled by my interest in her. However, to my dismay, I knew that I had to break this attachment to her before things could go too far. I had to detach myself. The thought of doing so broke my heart, but a clean break would be best for her, even if it meant that I would never get to learn her past. Besides, I have only really known her for a few hours, so it shouldn't take any time for her to move on. This was for the best; I tried to reason with myself. I would be best in the long haul if I stayed away from her as much as possible.

It was almost time for my shift to end, so I packed my paperwork into my bag, and prepared myself to make one last check, purely medical, on Claudine. I couldn't let any friendly emotion show. For Claudine's sake, I had to be cold and detached.

I entered her room to find her awake and looking out the window from her bed. She heard me enter and looked at me, smiling when she recognizing me.

"Hey, Dr. Cullen," she said happily.

"How are you feeling, Ms. Bentley?" I asked coldly.

My cold attitude was like a smack in the face to Claudine. She recoiled from my emotionless tome. Claudine tried to hide her emotion and stay strong by keeping eye contact as she told me she felt fine. However, the hurt in her eyes was clear. It dawned on me that she thought she had done something wrong to make me this way. I wanted to tell her so much that it wasn't her at all. It was me; it was what I was but I couldn't tell her that.

I didn't stay very long in her room. After she said that she was fine I checked her IV and left without another word. As I drove home in my car I felt like a monster. Claudine had looked like a kicked puppy. Through the centuries I had learned to cope with the spare time I had in the absence of sleep. There were of course nights I desperately wished for sleep – so I could desperately get away. Tonight would be one of those nights. I arrived at my home, pulling my car into the garage. My enhanced hearing let me know which members of my family were home. My lovely wife Esme was about the house humming. I could hear Alice and Jasper murmuring from their room. Emmett and Rosalie were gone to northern California to hunt, and Edward too was out hunting. Slowly I walked into the house where Esme immediately greeted me with a warm hug and kiss.

"How was your day, love?" she asked me as we went upstairs.

"Alright, I suppose," I answered.

"Oh dear, what is it?"

Ah, perceptive and caring as always. That was my Esme. I changed my clothes quietly, trying to choose my words. Once I had changed from my shirt and tie, I faced my wife, still unsure of what to say.

"It's that girl you found, isn't it?" Esme asked me.

"Yes," I sighed.

"Tell me about it dear," Esme said gently. "Get it off your chest; you'll feel better once you do."

We sat on the edge of the bed where Esme took my hand I knew I wasn't quite ready for the others to know very much yet, so I spoke at a low octave that only Esme and I could hear clearly.

"It only took a couple of hours," I began. "It wasn't until after the sedative kicked in that I realized it…"

"Realized what?"

"That I was growing attached to her. The girl is fascinating; I have never seen anything like her. She's the sweetest thing, but I can't get too close to her."

"Why can't you get close to her? Just be friends with her, it has to be lonely for her there all alone."

"That's the hard part. You see, if I grow too attached to her she will get too attached to me. That leads to the chance that the Volturi will step in especially if she were to gain our secret."

"Well if things got too far and she found out, why not just make her one of us?"

"Esme, she's a vibrant young woman with a life full of potential ahead of her. It would be wrong of me to take that away from her. So I thought a clean break and distance would be best."

"Things change, Carlisle. Wait, you haven't detached yourself already, have you?"

I hung my head in shame, I felt horrible. "I thought that would be best; to make her think that I didn't care so she could go on without me. Now I regret that decision and I'm not sure what to do."

"Follow your heart, my love. I know you'll do what is right. Did anyone find relatives of the girl?"

"No, she told me her parents hadn't wanted her. I need to think about things," I said, knowing that I needed to decide on things before morning. "I'll be in my office."

"Alright. Whatever you choose to do, I'm behind you one hundred percent," Esme said.

I thanked her and kissed her before locking myself in my office. I still felt like a monster after what I had done to Claudine. I was about the only one at the hospital she had trusted, and I had turned my back on her. It would be nice to really get to know the girl and find out why she had twenty sever pairs of chromosomes. Claudine had been like a ball of sunshine until I had been so cruel. Maybe I could be friends with her while keeping my secret. I mean, no one had ever figured it out before so what were the odds that Claudine would? But if she did find out…

I weighed my options heavily. It wasn't until Edward returned from his hunt that I had come to my decision. Edward knocked on the door then entered, Claudine's backpack, just as she had described it, was in his hand.

"Carlisle, here, I found the girl's backpack." He then caught my decision from the front of my mind. "Carlisle! Do you realize what you're doing!"

I sighed and rose from my chair. "Yes, I do realize how dangerous it is, son. However, I feel this is how it needs to be. Impossible as it seems, I grew attached to her within a couple of hours. Claudine needs my support so I must give it to her."

Edward said no more as I left my office. I pulled a zip up sweater over the polo shirt I was wearing and went to go back downstairs. Right before I descended the stairs I heard Edward mutter to me, "Alice is having a hard time seeing you when you're around that girl." I did not say anything in response; instead I told Esme I was going back to the hospital, to make things right.

Once I reached the hospital, I realized how late it was. Claudine's room was on the third floor, and when I peeked into her window from the roof of the next building I saw she was sound asleep. In the shadows I could be seen by none even if someone was looking. Almost every room was dark, either empty or its habitants asleep. I knew that the nurses had already made their final routine check of the night and would check regularly only on the few patients who required near constant monitoring. Claudine was not on that list, so I decided to sneak into her room.

After a quick survey of my surroundings, I confirmed there was no one else around and there were no security cameras to catch me. Quietly, I leapt from the room and landed almost silently on the outer edge of Claudine's window. The window was unlocked, so I opened it, snuck inside without a sound, and closed it behind me.

Claudine was sleeping peacefully, one again curled up into a tiny ball. I sat next to her bed in the same chair I had used earlier. For several moments I just watched her breathe heavily in sleep. She looked like a little angel. Then her brow furrowed. At first I thought she had woken up. However, I realized quickly she was dreaming as she began to twitch. Moments later she began to mumble. At first the sounds were inaudible, just a mumble jumble of sounds and syllables. It wasn't until a few moments later that I caught the just of what was happening.

"No," Claudine mumbled, her voice terrified. "Please, no. No! Make it stop! Make him go away…" she wailed softly.

I realized that she was having a horrible nightmare. I debated whether or not to wake her up. Deciding to see how things progressed, I settled with holding her hand in mine. He hands were almost as cold as mine but holding her hand seemed to work. She calmed down and escaped her nightmare I thought that until she started talking again. This time she kept saying things were too hot and she hurt.

Holding her hand wasn't working anymore. I put my other hand alongside the side of her face to find that her face was like a fire but her hands were still cold. My cold hand felt good to her as she pressed her head into my hand more. The coolness began to calm Claudine down but she still whimpered from her dream.

"Shh…," I cooed at a whisper. "Everything is okay."

For a while I hummed a nameless tune to her. Finally her body temperature returned to normal. The sun threatened to rise beneath the near constant cloud cover of Forks. The nurses would be switching shifts soon, and that meant that one would soon be here to check on Claudine. I swiftly left from how I entered smiling at the thought of being able to really get to know Claudine. Despite the dangers of letting the chips fall where they may, I was happy doing it. I was going to watch after this girl like she was my own. My only hope was that she didn't hate me for what I did yesterday.


	6. Ch 5 Nightmares Revisited

**A/N: Hey everyone! Here is chapter five of The Diamond Child. I just have a PSA for you here so you can better understand this chapter. Wolves Hollow is a completely fictional place. I made it up myself. However, Alto Pass is not. I recently had the extreme pleasure of once again visiting the quaint little town and that is how I came up with the fictional village of Wolves Hollow. The place in unbelievable in so many ways; I wish I could travel there much more often but the distance prohibits me from doing so. It takes a very, very long time for me to get there. So, if you ever get the chance to go to Alto Pass and see the Cross of Peace, do so! It is amazing. Just thought I'd let you know that to help you understand. Boy I wish I lived closer to the majestic place. **

**I don't own Twilight or Alto Pass. Just my OCs and such. Please R&R! ~Kawaii Stella**

The Diamond Child

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Five

Nightmares Revisited

~Claudine POV~

"_Bah Bah black sheep have you any wool? Ah, my dear sweetling, you will be __very__special when it is your time. Yes, indeed I hope you will join us one day…"_

_ That creepy whispering voice and those red eyes; they peered into my bassinet. A papery white hand touched my face. The hand was cold, and soon after I felt an odd feeling. It was like someone was in my head. I didn't like it at all. I wanted him away. If the guy was trying to be soothing, it wasn't working. I started to cry as my bassinet rocked._

I had had this dream before, many, many times. Every time it was exactly the same. The dream had to play all the way through before I could even come close to a peaceful slumber. However, this time, the dream didn't finish. He actually went away. It was nice until I was on fire.

There had been no dream to accompany the heat and pain. Only once in my life had I ever felt that much pain. It had been a year ago, when I had visited my cousins in the northwest. Last time, the fire had changed me in so many ways. Once that had been done the fire had left me stronger, but it had left me a freak.

The big difference between my real life experience and my dream was that in real life, nothing cooled me off. This time there had been. Slowly the pain in my dream subsided. By the time it was gone, I was ready to wake up.

I opened my eyes to see that my room was barely lit. Of course the lights were off but by six thirty, even if it was cloudy, there should have been more life than there was. Then I remembered that I was on the west coast now. Out my window I could barely see a sliver of the rising sun hidden by the thick grey clouds. Before I could react, a nurse flipped on the lights in my room.

"Ah!" I said, my eyes trying to adjust to the fluorescents.

"Oh, sorry Claudine!" The nurse said. "I didn't think that you would be awake."

"It's okay," I told her, rubbing my eyes.

"How are you feeling dear?"

"Okay," I said, too tired to examine my wounds.

"Are you ready for your breakfast? You barely ate a thing last night."

"Yes, please," I said, realizing how hungry I really was. I had been so upset last night that I had lost my appetite.

The nurse left to retrieve my breakfast, which would be undoubtedly influenced by whatever tests they had done. _Dr. Cullen_ probably ordered exactly what I could and could not have. God, what was with him! He was all nice and caring and gentle at first, and then it was like I was scum. His mood swing was like that of a woman's! No, no, no. I wasn't going to let that bother me and ruin my appetite. The nurse, whose name was Julie, then returned with my breakfast: a big plate of bacon, eggs, and toast, with a glass of orange juice. Surprisingly, it smelled amazing.

Julie left me to eat my breakfast in privacy. It didn't take me very long to finish my plate. For hospital food, my breakfast wasn't bad at all. But it would never beat Gran's food. When Julie came back she had a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt for me.

"Here," Julie said, handing me the clothes. "Since you aren't prohibited from getting up to use the bathroom, these will be better than that hospital gown."

After Julie left with my tray I put on the sweatpants and sweatshirt. They were way better than that paper thin hospital gown. I had a private room, which meant that I had the T.V. all to myself. Upon finding the channel guide, I found a marathon of The Nanny and settled with that. At ten a.m., right as the theme music came on yet again; a knock came at my door. It was Dr. Cullen, who entered with a smile on his face. His attitude had gone completely 180 degrees. I was beginning to think that he had more mood swings than a girl on her period.

"Good morning, Claudine," Dr. Cullen said cheerfully.

"Morning," I said, keeping my eyes on the T.V.

"How are you feeling this morning?" He asked gently. I was taken aback by the sincerity in his voice; once again it sounded like he cared.

"I'm okay," I told him, finally making eye contact. I saw in his eyes two things: one, he actually cared and two, remorse from his actions last night.

I couldn't not forgive him now. He looked like a puppy that peed on the rug even though he wasn't supposed to. I had no clue as to why he had acted so cold, but I was just going to let it go, because that's just how sweet I am.

"I am glad to hear that you ate all of your breakfast this morning, Claudine."

"I was hungry," I said quietly, but he still heard.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Dr. Cullen said chuckling. "Some of your wounds have healed so fast that it looks like I can start taking out stitches today."

"Really?" I asked excitedly. Hopefully that meant ditching the IV soon.

"Yes, I'll go get my supplies and get started. Then we need to work on your chart more. Also I have a few questions concerning the results of your blood tests."

"Alright," I said happily as Dr. Cullen left the room. Then two and two connected.

Back a year ago when I visited my cousins a supernatural change occurred. At first I was scared and didn't have a clue what was happening to me. But then I realized that it was kinda cool, being a shape shifter I mean. Through the pain and fire I had turned into a giant wolf. I had no clue why it happened to me, but it did. Lucky for me, the people back home in Wolves Hollow were very accepting. After some time, however, I started to wonder if the wolf thing would turn up some freaky crap in my blood. And now it looked like it had.

Dr. Cullen returned with some tools and quickly got to work taking out stitches. As he removed the stitched and re-wrapped my injuries in bandages, he talked with me about a variety of things.

"Where is Wolves Hollow, exactly?" he asked.

"Near Alto Pass, Illinois; in the hills beneath the Cross."

"The Cross?"

"Yeah, the Bald Knob Cross. It's amazing to say the least. It's very tall, about 111 feet, I think."

"It sounds amazing."

"It is, especially in the fall," I said quietly, suddenly very homesick.

The room was very quiet for a few minutes as Dr. Cullen finished removing stitches. I glanced out the window, looking into the dense green. It had stopped raining, but it was still overcast. There wasn't a shred of sunshine to be seen.

"There, all finished," Dr. Cullen said, fastening the last bandage securely.

"Cool." I said, not really paying attention. I missed home. This place was like an alien planet to me. I missed my family and friends. The stress of it all was making me depressed and tired. Out of habit I began massaging my right wrist. It was stiff again. I sighed mentally, hoping that my wrist wasn't somehow permanently damaged, which would put me out of a job.

"Is your wrist hurting you, Claudine?" Dr. Cullen asked.

"Huh? Oh, it's more stiff than sore," I said then muttered, "For today at least."

"Does this happen often?" Dr. Cullen inquired, taking my wrist into his ice cold hands.

"It's been like this for a year now, but I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't have let this go on for so long, Claudine," the doctor gently scolded.

"I've learned to deal with it. Besides, if I had gone to the doctor, I would have been forced to give up the one thing I love."

"And that would be…?" Dr. Cullen said as he had me flex my wrist in a number of ways. Revolving my wrist made it crack and pop a number of times which made Dr. Cullen frown.

"I want to have a few x-rays done on your wrist, Claudine."

"Okay," I said, knowing that there was no point in arguing, even though I did not trust x-ray machines at all. They freaked me out.

Dr. Cullen told the nurse to get me down to the x-ray wing as soon as there was a slot open. Apparently there was a spot open now, as the nurse quickly returned with a wheelchair. With absolute ease and grace Dr. Cullen lifted me up and put me in the chair like I weighted nothing at all. Before long I was down getting x-rays taken. I spoke to no one as the machine whirred with energy. It reminded me of when I was little; right after my parents abandoned me.

When the x-rays were done, the negatives went to get developed. I wish I could have gone to watch; I loved photography. But, as I was pushed out of the x-ray room, Dr. Cullen was there waiting. Sure he was my doctor, but would he ever leave me alone? I guessed not because he himself began to wheel me back to my room. Or that's what I thought until we went out back of the hospital, where there was a lawn with brick paths for patients' families to get some fresh air.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"I thought it would be nice for you to get some fresh air while the rain had stopped."

It was nice. The temperature was warm and surprisingly not humid. A slight breeze swayed the green treetops at the edge of the grounds. I let the wind caress my face silently. It was very calming.

"So, what was the one thing you said you were afraid you'd lose if you had gone to get your wrist checked out?"

"My art," I said.

"You draw?"

"Yes, quite often."

"You'll definitely have to show me your work, Claudine."

"Sure," I said. "As soon as I get my backpack back."

"Well, until it gets here I want to ask you something."

"Is this about the results of my blood tests?" I asked nervously.

"Yes, do you know how many chromosomal pairs humans have, Claudine?"

"Uh, twenty three, right?" I had taken two years of biology.

"That's right. Claudine," he addressed me. "You blood test results say you have twenty seven."

"Twenty seven!" My eyes popped a little. I had never imagined that my stupid change into a wolf had left me so freakishly mutated. I debated whether or not to act completely unaware. I decided not to, because I was positive he'd see right through me.

"This isn't much of surprise to you, is it?" Dr. Cullen asked. "Are there any mutations you know about that we don't?" Now Dr. Cullen was sitting at the edge of a bench, facing me.

"No," I lied. "I've always been a bit weird, but I've never known myself to have any genetic mutations of any kind." I chuckled nervously.

"You're lying, aren't you?" Dr. Cullen suspected.

"Yes," I said, hanging my head in defeat. I was now afraid that Dr. Cullen would be very mad at me. But to my amazement, he wasn't mad, he actually appeared curious.

"Do you know why you have twenty seven pairs of chromosomes?"

"Not exactly," I said, looking into his amber eyes. "But I have theories."

"May I hear them?"

"No." I said firmly. I didn't want to sound like a complete whack job.

"Why not, Claudine?"

"Because I don't want to be put pack in a padded cell."

"I would never do such a thing." Dr. Cullen said earnestly.

Like I haven't heard that before!

"Sure, you wouldn't," I said sarcastically.

"Claudine, I really wouldn't! Never for a second have I thought you insane!"

"You would if you heard my theory," I said as my blood started to boil.

"Why? Why would I say you're crazy?" Dr. Cullen asked exasperated.

"Because they think it the result of reading too many myths and legends; even though it's not."

"What do you mean by that?" He prodded gently.

He really wanted to know, didn't he? I wanted to tell him, but after my last encounter with a doctor, I couldn't trust any kind of medical person. I couldn't survive going through that again.

"I. Can't. Tell. You!" I said for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

"Claudine, what happened to make you not trust me?"

"It's not just you, Dr. Cullen." I said, sadness dripping into my voice. "It is doctors in general I can't trust."

"Why not?"

"You don't know what they did to me!" My voice cracked.

"What exactly did they do?"

I pushed up the baggy sleeves of my sweatshirt past my elbows so he could see the scars my last doctor had left.

"I don't know how things are here in your world, but I found that in mine, shock treatments were still very real."


	7. Ch 6 Scars

**A/N: Hey! Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter out! Thank you for all the sweet faves and comments! All the support has helped me to rediscover my fire for this story. I hope you like this chapter. I have a feeling the next chapter will be on the short side, but we shall see. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please feel free to leave a review! Enjoy! **

**~Kawaii**

The Diamond Child

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Six

Scars

~Carlisle POV~

I had certainly not expected Claudine to say what she just had. Shock treatments? The thought was appalling! No man or woman, in my opinion, should be able to call themselves doctors if they do such a thing.

"You were subjected to shock treatments?" I asked Claudine, angry at whoever did this to her.

"Yes, it was… horrible, to say the least. It left a lot of scars, see?" Claudine said then stuck out her right arm where, for the first time, I saw the scars for what they truly were: horrible reminders of her past.

When I first examined Claudine, right after I brought her here to the hospital, I had believed that the scars were form childhood accidents. I saw now how horribly wrong I had been. There were light scars feathered randomly across the bottom of her forearm. They had healed well and were not very visible unless one was to look closely. The worst were around her elbow and wrist.

"Why are the scars more prominent around your elbow?" I asked Claudine quietly.

"Because about a week and a half into my shock sessions, the _doctors,_" she said the term with disgust, not that I could blame her. "Figured out that the electricity was even more painful if administered at a joint. They stuck large conducting needles into my skin at the joints then turned up the voltage." Claudine said as she traced the scar around her elbow, twisting her arm to show the scars there. "They did this all over my body. At my knees, ankles, shoulder blades, my hip socket…"

"My God," I mumbled at a loss for words. "For how long did this go on…?"

"About three months," She said as she absentmindedly traced the scars on her knee through her sweatpants.

"I don't know why or how anyone could do such a thing! That's the reason why your wrist hurts a lot, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Didn't your grandparents or someone notice what was going on?"

"No, because I wasn't at home; I was in a mental hospital. They would not allow me to have any contact with Gran or Grandpa. Only the doctors could talk with them and they said I was doing well in "rehab."" Claudine used air quotes around the last word.

It was beginning to look like Claudine had never spoken a word of this to anyone before. Hopefully it would be a large weight off her chest once she finished. I knew I was right in that had seen more than any other 17 year old I had ever met. I asked another question to keep the story rolling.

"Why did they finally let you go home if they thought you were mentally unstable?"

As much as I had thought the shock treatments surprising, this really threw me for a loop.

"Because I about died," she said, beginning to break down. All I could do was look at her in amazement and pity.

"How?" I asked, fearful, almost, to hear the answer.

"The shocks got so bad it sent my heart into overdrive. For a week my heart rate never stayed constant at a normal rate. My heart would go really fast to the point where I couldn't breathe right. Then it would slow down to the point of almost stopping. By the end of that week my chest was in constant pain; I didn't know how much further I could go. Then for five minutes it did stop, but somehow they resuscitated me." Claudine finished, now crying.

I had no idea what to say; who would? It nearly scared the life out of me when she grabbed her chest. Her heart was already beating fast because she was crying, so I couldn't tell what was going on.

"Claudine! Claudine, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine Dr. Cullen. Really. It- it just hurts to remember…" she said through massive sobs.

I tried to soothe her by rubbing he shoulder, but she flinched away from my touch. Two minutes later Claudine's crying subsided.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to flip out like that. Y'know, that's the first time I've talked about that since it happened. It felt good to get it out. Thanks for listening."

"You have no reason to be apologizing for something beyond your control. It's good you got it off your chest. It was interesting hearing your story. Anytime you feel the need to talk about anything, just tell me; I'll be here to listen."

"Thanks," she said, wiping her tears away on the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

Then my pager beeped.

"It looks like your x-rays are ready to be examined."

"Oh joy," Claudine said sarcastically.

"Come on, it won't be that bad," I chuckled as I pushed her back to the hospital.

I put Claudine back in her room before I went to the nurse's station to retrieve Claudine's x-rays. Upon re-entering the room I attached the three x-rays on the light board above Claudine's head for closer examination.

"Well, Claudine," I said. "The damage done to your right wrist seems to be reversible. It's just going to take a little bit of work to get it back to the way it should be. The first thing you will have to do is wear a brace for quite some time."

"Okay," Claudine conceded.

"I had to get a brace from the pediatric ward because I thought an adult brace would be too large on you."

I slipped the black brace over Claudine's petite wrist and it fit perfectly. I adjusted it to how it should be, and then told her what she would have to do.

"Twice a day you'll have assigned exercises to do in order to aid in rebuilding the strength in your wrist."

"Alright," she said as she examined the brace coving her wrist. Then, rather loudly, her stomach growled.

"I've kept you from your lunch," I said, feeling rather embarrassed. "I'll have the nurse bring you your meal and I'll check on you again later."

~~Claudine POV~~

Dr. Cullen was truly a nice guy, I decided. My lunch came and I shoveled it down, despite it tasting a lot worse than breakfast. At least the Jell-O tasted good. Mmm… strawberry flavored powdered cow and chicken bones; gotta love it. It made me happy that he wasn't in a mood anymore.

A nurse came in after I had finished eating and explained to me what exercises involved me working with different typed of weights. My favorite exercise was twirling two large ball bearings around the palm of my hand with my fingers. I was doing that precise exercise when Dr. Cullen returned. This time, he had someone with him. The guy looked about my age and had bronze hair. In one hand Dr. Cullen held by backpack. I should have been more excited than I was, but that feeling, like someone was in my head, was back.

"Get out of my head, mind reader! I screamed mentally. The boy's eyes went wide with shock. "That's right; I can feel you prodding at my brain. Now back off!" I mentally yelled again, this time raising a mental barrier that I had been perfecting for years. It kicked bronze boy out of my head. A scowl crossed his face which told me that he wasn't used to not being able to read minds.

"Look at what I've got, Claudine," Dr. Cullen said with a smile as he held up my backpack. It was clear that he had missed the whole mental exchange between me and the boy.

"Awesome! You got my backpack!" I said as Dr. Cullen handed it to me. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome. Actually my son Edward found it."

"Thank you, Edward." I said. I could tell he was still angry at me for shutting him out of my head.

"You're welcome," Edward said shortly, before turning to his father to excuse himself to the hall. I hadn't realized that it was three o'clock.

Julie came in and injected a pain medicine into my IV as she had done yesterday at three. Amazingly, for a split second, the sun came out from behind the clouds. It sent a small ray of sunlight into my room. It was the first time that I had seen sunlight in Forks. What was odd though, was what happened when it hit Dr. Cullen's skin.

Dr. Cullen, prior to the sun shining into my room, had knelt on the floor to untangle the cords to a couple of monitors. His hand had been the only thing exposed to light as it had been holding onto the stand of the heart monitor. And to my disbelief, I swear his hand sparkled.

'Hands don't sparkle,' I tried to convince myself. 'It had to be the medicine; it had to be making me see things.' That was a logical explanation. As soon as the sun had appeared it disappeared.

Mr. Mind Reader came back after the sun was gone and asked to speak with his father alone in the hallway. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was in the hell was going on here?


	8. Ch 7 Revelations

**A/N: Hi guys. Sorry it's been so long. In all honesty, I totally forgot that I had this chapter finished and hadn't posed it! Chapter 8 is still in the works. This is a short chapter, but I hope you guys like it nonetheless. Oh, and I used Bing Translate for the Italian, so I hope it's not wrong.  
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The Diamond Child

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Seven

Revelations

~Carlisle POV~

As I finished untangling the cords of two monitors next to Claudine's bed, Edward asked me to speak with him in the hall.

"Carlisle, that thing isn't normal! She felt me read her thoughts the blocked me from her head!

"Really? How interesting! I wonder how she is able to do that."  
>"Carlisle! This shouldn't be at all possible!"<p>

"That may be, but she isn't the only one to defy logic. Look at us," I explained.

Edward thought for a moment before speaking again.

"That may be, but admit it, Carlisle, something is off about her."

"Maybe so, Edward. Maybe so."

Edward left the hospital to spend time with Bella. It was obvious that he wasn't pleased about how much attention I was giving Claudine. I was astounded by her ability to keep Edward from her mind. I very much wanted to ask her how she was able to accomplish such a feat, but I knew I had better not. I was pushing boundaries as it was.

By the time I re-entered her room, Claudine had made quick work of rummaging through her bag. Stacks of things surrounded her, including a stack of drawings. I looked at one and immediately understood why she had feared losing her art. She was superb at drawing.

"Claudine, these are beautiful," I complimented.

Claudine beamed at my praise.

"Thank you," she said.

"May I?" I asked as I noticed some of her other drawings.

She gave me the go ahead and I looked though some of her remarkable works. She would watch my facial expressions as I looked at each one. She also took a few books from her bag. I asked her about her inspirations among other things. Then, sooner than I would've liked, it was time for me to go home. I knew I would be back tonight. Claudine seemed a bit saddened about my departure but I promised her everything would be okay.

In the darkest hours I again snuck into the hospital to see Claudine. She had fallen asleep while reading; a large leather bound book rested atop her stomach. I placed the book on the table beside her bed then tucked her in. I knew that if I could've had my own daughter, I'd want her to be just like Claudine.

Not long after I settled in to watch her sleep, Claudine awoke.

"Dr. Cullen? What brings you here at this hour? Did you forget something?"

"Yes, that's right." I latched onto the hook that Claudine had provided me, hoping she'd buy it.

She grabbed my wrist and said,

"Well, I'm glad you come. It's sweet of you to check on me."

"It's nothing." I told her, but Claudine had zoned out.

I thought she might be about to fall asleep but no. Claudine was about to astound me.

"Pelle pallida e ghiaccio fredda. Resistenza ineguagliabile con occhi insoliti. Vampiro." {1} Claudine said in flawless Italian.

As she said the last word, she looked me straight in the eye. She smiled a timid smile at me before lying back down and returning to her slumber.

Claudine knew. Little did I realize that this would be the last time I would see her for quite a while.

~Claudine POV~

I woke up early again but for a good reason. The sun was out. A rare occasion in Forks. I thought that I had had my book out last night. Ah, there it was; on the nightstand next to the bed.

Wait, I hadn't put that there.

The memory from last night flooded back. I had realized that Carlisle was a vampire. . . and I had told him as much. Oh my God. What have I done! Now more than ever I was eager to see him, praying that he wasn't angry. However Carlisle never returned. I was told that he was on an extended vacation to enjoy the sun.

Even more rarely for Forks, the sun lasted a week; a full seven days. On the second day of sun, I got a new physical therapist, Dr. Thread.

After my shock therapy over a year ago, I blocked a lot of things out; especially bad experiences. It started during the shock therapy as I began to pain and the hideous grins on the doctors' faces. Now I was faced with a similar situation. Not with electrocution, but with something else. Something worse and something I would rather not think or speak about.

On the first day I had Dr. Thread he came in to speak with me privately. He said, as he pulled the curtain around my bed, that he did this with all of his patients: having a one on one talk to have a better understanding of each other.

"Now, as long as you don't fight it, everything will be great for the both of us." Thread said, placing a hand on my thigh.

After that, I blacked everything out, or at least tried to. I had never felt so alone, so helpless. Finally I was released after a week passed. The day after I left, it began to rain again.

Footnotes:

{1} "Pale and ice cold skin. Strength unparalleled with unusual eyes. Vampire."


	9. Ch 8 The Chase

**A/N: I know the last chapter was short and this one isn't much longer. But I didn't have any other better place to stop without making the plot drag out. I think the next chapter will be better. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

The Diamond Child

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Eight

The Chase

~Claudine~

After my release from the hospital, I listlessly found my way to La Push, where my cousins lived, where I found a place to stay.

I stayed with my cousin Seth Clearwater whose sister didn't like me much. She disliked me so much that I had to share a room with Seth. It wasn't bad though. Seth was good company; always happy. But not happy enough to shake that hollow feeling that emanated from the newest mental scars that I had gained.

Seth's mom, Sue, enjoyed my company as well as my ability to cook. With a house full of werewolves, it took a lot to keep stomachs full. I liked to cook, it kept my mind busy. Eventually Seth convinced me to run with him and the rest of Sam's pack after quite a bit of begging. It wasn't very eventful at the first few patrols and I disliked their shared mind. It made me happy that I could keep them out with my mental barrier. It took a few days, but finally we got some action.

~Carlisle~

It took a record breaking week for the thick sheath of clouds to recapture the sun. I was eager to return to work, to see Claudine. I was planning to take Esme with me when I went back at night. I knew Esme would enjoy it and if Claudine awoke again, so would she. I was almost certain that Claudine would adore Esme. I walked down the hall to room 342, ready to see Claudine's smile. However, I soon found the room empty with the bed impeccably made. Any trace of Claudine had vanished.

I quickly inquired as to who was placed in charge of Claudine's care during my absence. It turned out that one of the new physical therapists, Dr. Thread, had been put in charge of, dare I say it, my favorite patient. It took several minutes of tracking at a dreadfully slow human pace to find Dr. Thread.

"Ah, hello Dr. Cullen." Thread greeted me as I approached. "It's nice to see that you're finally back."

"Thank you, it is nice to be back to work," I said cordially. "Now, about my patient, Claudine Bentley…"

"Oh yeah, the mystery girl, right? I just released her a couple of days ago."

"What? She wasn't to be released! Nobody has a clue who she is. She can't be left to wander on her own!"

I was beyond furious. Half of my mind was engulfed in anger at this good for nothing therapist, while the other half was worried sick about Claudine.

"Chill, Carlisle. She can figure things out on her own. If not, the morticians will tell us when they see her."

"You're sick," I hissed before walking away. I needed to know where Claudine went.

I made several phone calls, but I received no news on Claudine's whereabouts. Night after night Esme and I searched the forests for any trace of Claudine. During the dusk hours we would search the town, but to no avail. Claudine was nowhere to be seen. Chief Swan hadn't seen her either. Each day my worries grew exponentially. After a few days, a new problem arose that required most of my attention. A nomadic vampire had come into town and had slaughtered three mill workers just outside of town.

I don't relish the thought of having to end another creature, but it quickly became apparent that my family and I would have to hunt this rogue nomad. Only once had Edward caught the woman's thoughts. He only had been able to catch the woman's name, Clementine, before she disappeared into the sound of the Pacific. Alice foresaw Clementine's return, and so we waited in the forest bordering the La Push boundary.

"The werewolves are waiting for her too. I can hear them." Edward said. "But they're unhappy about not being able to hear someone's thoughts."

"A new pack member?" Esme asked.

"Perhaps," Edward said.

Edward went silent then, most likely trying to figure out who the new werewolf was. His effort was cut short though as Clementine crossed the border. She edged from side to side, giving us little chance for us to catch her. The wolves caught up to her as well, but their attempt at catching her was as good as ours, falling short just the same. We couldn't let her escape.

~Edward~

Even while chasing after Clementine I tried to figure out, through the minds of the other wolves, who the new one was. This new wolf was smaller than the rest, smaller than Seth even. I could tell the new wolf wasn't as eager to chase after the rogue vampire as she remained in the back of the formation. Many of the pack members were unpleased with this.

'Come on, Claude! Get the lead out! I know you can hear us.' Jared mentally commanded.

'No.' she thought. 'I'm not going to push my wrist. I don't belong to you anyway.'

I knew that voice. It was Claudine. She heard me get into her brain and began to raise her mental barrier.

'Claudine, wait!' I thought at her.

She heard me and looked in my direction.

'Carlisle is extremely concerned about you. Ever since he came back and you were gone, he's been in a frenzy trying to find you.'

Another wolf heard her speaking with me. The wolf snapped at Claudine, a loud grown escaping from between its clenched jaw. Claudine whined, ears flattening against her skull. The wolf backed off and rejoined the pack. I stayed at the rear, trying to get Claudine to listen to me again. I felt her barrier go up again, wanting the other wolves to leave her alone. Finally she created a small hole in her shield, letting me in.

'Why?' she thought.

'I don't know why. But I do know he's worried about you. He hasn't stopped looking since you were discharged.'

Claudine didn't say a word. She didn't believe me. No… It was something more than that. He didn't trust me. But maybe she would trust Carlisle.

'Not going to believe me? Fine. Would you believe it if you talked to Carlisle?'

That idea lit a spark of interest in Claudine's eyes. I had captured her attention.

'Stay right here. I'll get him.' But before I sprinted off, it hit me. I had never truly spoken a single word aloud. The _entire_ conversation had been mental.

"How can you hear my thoughts?" I said aloud.

"How can you hear mine?" Claudine said. "How can I speak aloud as a wolf? My guess is, for the first question that it's because you got into my head first that I can telepathically converse with you."

"I suppose so…" I said before going after Carlisle. It took less than two minutes to catch up to the rest of my family, who was still running parallel to the wolves.

"Carlisle!" I called, trying to grab his attention.

"Is this absolutely necessary?" Carlisle asked. "We really need to get Clementine."

"I found Claudine."

"You did?" Carlisle's mind was off of the chase now.

"I told her you were worried about her but she wouldn't believe me. Claudine isn't very trusting right now. But she did agree to hear you out."

"Go on. We've got this." Esme said reassuringly.

Carlisle followed me back to the spot where I had left Claudine. I had forgotten to tell Carlisle she was a werewolf, so he was a little shocked.

"Claudine?"

"H-hello, Dr. Cullen." she skittishly said aloud. Claudine cocked her head. "Never seen a talking wolf before?"

"Have fun." I told Carlisle before heading back on the chase.


	10. Ch 9 The Great Escape

**A/N: Here's chapter 9! I'm getting chapters out quick with this one. I hope this chapter turned out well. It's late and I just finished it. I wanted to get it done so I wouldn't be tempted to finish it while I worked on my homework. It might be until after finals until I get more out. We'll just have to see. Enjoy this late night chapter! ~KS**

The Diamond Child

Kawaii Stella

Chapter Nine

The Great Escape

~Carlisle~

I couldn't help but be stunned. Little Claudine was a werewolf. So many new questions arose with this new revelation. The strange thing was I would have never guessed she was a werewolf. Claudine did not possess the same unpleasant odor the other wolves carried. But before I started asking my own questions, I had to answer, I had to answer Claudine's.

"I can't say that I have. Claudine, are you alright? Where have you been since Dr. Thread released you?"

At the Mention of Dr. Thread, Claudine's ears went back. I couldn't tell if she was angry or afraid though. Claudine reined in her emotions and finally spoke.

"I'm… okay," she said hesitantly. "I've been staying with my cousins here."

"You don't seem very happy about that."

"I'm not a generally happy person."

"I find that rather inconsistent to what I know of you." I told Claudine. "The Claudine I know is a happy girl who's very passionate about her art."

"You weren't there!" Claudine blurted out.

"What?" I asked, shocked by her sudden outburst.

"I don't want to talk about it! Forget I said anything!"

"What happened to you while I was gone? Please, tell me Claudine."

"I'm still wearing the brace and doing those and exercises you taught me. It's helping. It really is. It doesn't hurt as much anymore."

Claudine was desperately trying to change the subject. Whatever had happened, she didn't want to talk about it. She rattled on about trivial things for a while, not wanting to let me get back to her earlier statement.

"Are you mad at me?" Claudine asked, suddenly jumping off of her trivial tangent.

"Why would I be mad at you, Claudine?" I asked, unsure of where this might go.

"Because of what I said that night."

"Oh. No, I'm not mad at all. I was very surprised that you knew, and I'm not sure how you figured it out, but I'm certainly not mad."

Claudine looked relieved at this.

"Claudine, are you really okay?" I asked her, hoping to get some real answers from her.

Claudine sat back on her hind legs and looked at me, deciding whether or not to tell me the truth. She huffed out a deep breath and quietly said,

"No, I'm not okay."

Claudine's voice cracked. Deep into her eyes I saw the pain. Inside of the wolf sitting before me was a little girl. A very hurt and frightened little girl. Seeing that made my still heart break.

"Honey what happened to you?" I asked as gently as I could.

Claudine let out a pitiful whine and sunk down onto her belly. Her earthy brown fur trembled with her. I had never seen a wolf cry before, but a large tear slipped from her eye. It became painfully obvious that Claudine could not bring herself to tell me what happened. Whatever had happened, it had been very bad.

"Do you want to get out of here? I can see that you're miserable. Come stay with me and my family, Claudine. I'll take care of you; keep you safe."

"Really?" Claudine said, rising to her feet.

"Absolutely. You shouldn't have been released from the hospital that early anyway. I'll be able to give you the care you need."

"I'll need to get my stuff."

"That's fine. Just meet me…"

Claudine's head whipped to the west. She heard the thundering footsteps as did I. The other wolves had realized that Claudine had been talking with me. They were very unhappy about this. Claudine tried to get away, but it was too late.

"No! Claudine!"

~3rd Person POV~

Their paws pounded into the ground with immense power. Claudine's instincts told her to flee, but she wasn't fast enough. Paul collided directly with Claudine's ribcage, causing a couple ribs to crack. Claudine flew backwards a good ten feet, sending dirt into the air as she collided with the Earth. Paul's fangs were bared in fury, deafening growls drowning out Carlisle's yells.

In the eyes of the pack, Claudine and made a serious mistake. She had communicated with a blood sucking leech, their natural enemy. Now she had to pay for her mistakes. Paul dug his razor sharp teeth into Claudine. His teeth ripped through her flesh and sent chunks of fur flying into the air. Jared was not one to be left out, so he too joined Paul in mauling poor Claudine. She tried to fight back but was no match for two wolves, each twice her size.

The rest of the Cullen clan had joined Carlisle. All were appalled at the sight taking place before them. They couldn't do anything to help the young werewolf. Jasper could feel the pain emanating from Claudine. Carlisle couldn't take it. He had vowed to look after her like one of his own, and so he would. Carlisle prepared to leap across the ravine to save Claudine, but was held back.

"Carlisle, no!" Emmett growled, holding him back.

"You can't break the treaty!" Jasper said as he aided Emmett.

"They aren't going to kill her, Carlisle." Edward said.

"I know it hurts to watch, but we'll get her. And when we have her, we'll give her all the love and care she needs." Esme said gently, wrapping her arms around Carlisle's waist.

Paul and Jared ripped Claudine to shreds. Blood started to mat up in her fur. Bones crunched between incisors. Claudine yelped in pain and whined for mercy. It was quite a pitiful sight. After what seemed like an eternity Sam called them off, ending the brutal punishment. The two backed off, leaving Claudine in a crumpled heap. Sam and the pack gave the Cullens a loud warning to stay away from them. The wolves retreated into the trees, commanding that Claudine follow. Claudine forced herself onto all four legs. She stumbled and nearly fell over with each step. Nearly all of her strength was gone; she was very weak.

As her only defense Claudine had raised her mental barrier, but created a hole which was ever so small. The hole was just small enough for Edward, and Edward alone, to get into her mind.

"Carlisle, she still wants to go with you. She wants you meet her at the boundary line." Edward said.

"I'll be there Claudine. I'll be there." Carlisle assured her.

Claudine nodded, solidified her barrier, and followed the other wolves back to La Push.

Before coming out of the woods Claudine shifted back into her human form. It was quite a painful ordeal, as it forced her broken bones into their proper positions. She was bloody and torn all over. Claudine didn't even have the strength in her for her wounds to heal at the supernatural speeds. She was ready to get the hell away from this pack. Without a word to anyone else, Claudine trudged back to Sue's house with Seth hot on her heels.

"You okay, Claude? I'm so sorry. That wasn't right of them to do that. It's your choice who you talk to. Are you okay Claudine?"

"Seth?"

"Yeah?"

"Please hush. My head already hurts."

"Sorry."

The two made it to Sue's house where Seth had to help Claudine up the stairs to his room. There, despite still bleeding, Claudine grabbed her backpack which contained her only possessions, and slung the one strap across her back. Tightening the strap, she hobbled to the door.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Seth whispered.

"Yeah. I'm sorry Seth."

"Where are you going? Is Dr. Cullen taking you in?"

"You cannot tell anyone about this." Claudine hissed. "You saw what they did to me for just talking to him. If they knew I was going to live with them, they would _kill_ me."

"I won't tell. I swear." Seth promised. "Even though they're, you know, I'm glad you're going with them. I think Dr. Cullen's nice. He'll take good care of you. You need the care."

Claudine smiled. "Thanks Seth. I'm glad someone understands." Claudine gave Seth a tight hug, relishing the warmth radiating from his body.

Claudine left then, making her way out of town. She walked past the little general store, gaining snide comments from other pack members, including Paul.

"Where ya going, leech lover?"

"For a hike, which is none of your damn business." Claudine growled. Her growl was half hearted, as she was still bleeding and still very weak.

"You're just sore because you got whipped."

"Go to hell, Paul."

Claudine went into the woods and slipped back into her wolf self. She shouldn't have done that because of how weak she was, but she could reach the boundary quicker as a wolf. Little did Claudine know that Leah had decided to play the role of the spy, and was currently telling Sam of Claudine's defection to the Cullens. The growls of the others exploding into wolves could be heard throughout the forest. Claudine started to run as fast as she could, but after a few minutes she couldn't keep up the strength needed to stay as a wolf.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"Where is she?" Carlisle anxiously wondered. He had stayed at the boundary line while Esme had gone and fetched his car.

"She'll be here." Esme assured him.

Then the couple smelled blood. Human blood. In the distance a battered Claudine appeared from behind a tree. She looked worse now than she did when Carlisle had found her.

"Claudine!" Carlisle and Esme called.

Claudine spotted them in her fading vision. She stumbled towards them, towards freedom. Just as she thought she was safe, the barks of the pack could be heard quickly approaching. Trying to run, Claudine tripped and fell which gave the others the one up. A wolf grabbed her by the shirt, shook her like a rag doll, and tossed her several yards. The same wolf was about to repeat the process when another wolf knocked him out of the way. That other wolf was Seth.

Seth stood in front of Claudine, defending her. The other wolves were about to converge in on Seth when Jacob stepped up in his young companion's defense. Claudine tried to crawl away, but fell flat at each attempt. The blackness had her in a vice hold, making staying awake a very difficult challenge.

With Jacob watching his back, Seth picked up Claudine by the shirt, and started off towards the boundary line. Leah furiously got away from Jacob and tackled Seth to the ground. The attack jostled Claudine back to reality, and she started to close the distance between her and the boundary line. Carlisle was there, reaching his hand out to her. Claudine, too, reached out just far enough for Carlisle to grasp her wrist. He pulled her over the line and into his arms just as Leah's teeth grazed the back of Claudine's left calf.

Carlisle cradled Claudine against his cold chest.

"It's okay, you're safe now. You are going to be just fine." He murmured.

Claudine moaned in pain as she drifted to and from consciousness. Carlisle adjusted her to where her head was resting in the crook between his neck and shoulder. He knew Claudine needed immediate medical attention. They needed to get back to the house.

"Esme, let's go." Carlisle said as he and his wife hurried to their car.

Esme slid into the passenger's seat and Carlisle put Claudine into her arms. Carlisle hurried into the driver's seat and sped off, leaving angry, howling wolves in the distance. Hearing the wolves howl, Claudine let out a whine.

"Thank you, Seth," Claudine whispered before going out cold.

~Carlisle~

Claudine was in bad shape. Her tan cargo shorts were ripped and bloodied as was her grey t-shirt. Her brown hair was matted to her face. Even while speeding back to our home, I watched Esme cradle Claudine. Esme ever so gently brushed the matted hair out of Claudine's face and took in every detail. My wife looked at the small girl the way a mother would look her newborn child.

It was at that moment I knew I had made the right decision.


End file.
